Sherelle – 160 Down The A406
- NICK DUTFIELD
- Jul 23, 2021
- 3 min read
Those with a penchant for prudence might be alarmed by the title of this week’s track, as it evokes hazardous speeds for ring road circulation. Not to worry, the 160 is bpm not mph. Visions of calm tootling are restored, albeit with high octane beats thumping out. Just don’t let the adrenaline rush affect your pedal pressure. 160 bpm is Sherelle’s favourite bpm and she has established herself as head of a whole ton of producers and fans who simply refuse to slow down. For them, Snap’s Rhythm of the Night might as well be My Heart Will Go On. Here’s a quick quote from her Resident Advisor biography..
The London-born DJ has been busy since that Boiler Room tour sent her signature brand of low-end energy viral: her residency on BBC radio 1 has seen her champion cutting-edge dance music to a mainstream audience as well as combine OGs like DJ Spinn, 4Hero, Kode9 and Luke Vibert with next gen disruptors like Mantra, L C Y, Yazzus and Kush Jones. Her label Hooversound, which she runs alongside Naina, has carved out a reputation as one of the freshest outputs to emerge out of UK club culture through releases featuring, Special Request, Tim Reaper, Hyroglifics, Sinistarr and Deft; and she’s co-founded the incendiary 6 Figure Gang.
Having thrown this in, I can now give a nod to the use of OG, which you might have down as Original Gangster (Or Original Gallego here in Northern Spain) but gets bandied around simply meaning Original. Thankfully I have an informative network of one 11-year to keep me updated on linguistics. Thanks Otto, here is my example sentence – ‘Check out the Cambrian Explosion bub, that wasn’t half mad OG evolutionary business.’
160 Down The A406 is a real tune. It barely sounds frantic at all, with the key pads and chilled vocals taking the edge off the jittery beats. The tempo is reminiscent of footwork tracks while the slight melancholy edge of the melody brings in a classic house vibe. Or maybe free parties, and Orbital. The A406 is the north circular after all.
While we’re spinning round London, can we just put a brake on the BPMs and drop in on NiNE8 crew. Their last single was a brilliant edgy guitar hip hop thing, Cold Hands, but this time it’s a half trip hop, half UK garage style workout with pure romantic overtones, featuring Lava La Rue, Nige, Mac Wetha, Lorenzorsv and Bone Slim. A guess puts the pace at slightly under the iconic garage 138bpm point. Nice one NiNE8.
The lights have gone red now, it’s a pedestrian crossing and the guy on the road is carrying a tuba. It’s Theon Cross, who apparently has been charged with the job of rejuvenating jazz. He looks quite chilled despite the pressure. His new tune, We Go Again has brought us all the way down to 68ish BPM, the scenery has slowed down, and the bass has turned brassy. I can’t recommend this tune highly enough, it’s chilled but sneaky, and a fine way to end our drive around the big smoke.
THIS WEEK
Sherelle – 160 Down The A406
2,157 views since 21st June Weekly Average Views – 458
LAST WEEK
Lovely Eggs – Dum Dum Boys
Weekly Average Views – 392 Blog Week Views – 196
EXTRAS
NiNE8 - Luv U Do
NiNE8 – Cold Hands
Theon Cross – We Go Again
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